Member Info for JohnLewis79

Good to see a new face on SPO board! Been a lonely place these last few months, so chuck your fourpence worth in as other views on Spo are more than welcome!

Just mm's silly games on small Vols over the wk and the odd stale bull cashing out. I would not read anything into the sp fall. The market plainly thinks CG are a non starter hence the drift down in the sp as buyers have deserted the stock fearing bid terms will be unattractive, particularly the CG paper. I am surprised we have not seen any interest from anybody else who perhaps are waiting to see what CG comes up with? Long drawn out t/overs rarely prove beneficial for the targets shareholders. Why did Penrose grant CG an extension? My hunch the cash element was not high enough as having turned down a rumoured 75p for the Pools division we'd expect that at least! We'll soon know but don't expect fireworks!

Morning Bruce where have you been? CG are an Internet based lottery and games provider (mainly) based in Canada & quoted on the Toronto SX. Tiny Co compared to us and doubt pre bid interest anyone this side of the pond had heard of them? We have asked for an extension which surprised me so Penrose & Co must be taking this seriously! As ever pis are left whistling in the wind as to the terms. Oh yes definitely a hold Bruce more for the vat aspect than anything CG can come up with. Don't think we'll get a result on vat (dark forces) but as my father used to say it may be 10/1 but never forget the 1 and my forecasts on anything are unreliable! Speak soon JL.

Wonder why we requested an extension? Are we quibbling over the cash element? Penrose must have talked to HG & others as to what they would expect and I cannot see them in favour of CG paper even if we own most of it! Suspect this will be messy and keeping shareholders hanging on is doing nobody any favours, yet the iis must have ok the extension so perhaps it's just the price is the sticking point? Do you think we should entertain any offer until the vat decision? I do not as a no result is pretty much priced in and if the vat is ruled in our favour? Well I don't think we'll be hearing from CG again.

Did we get down on bended knee? Good grief surprised CG didn't tell us to shove it as the Romancer ain't got the balls!!

Extension granted till 9/10/15. For gods sake what is the ' Romancer' up to and requested by SPO! Heh....i get it, to coincide with another beating from HMRC no doubt? Surprised the stock ain't in the 50's!

Daft Day, CG what next in the Penrose the Romancer's........fantasy world of explosive bump in the night minds eye wif-woffery?

Daft Day indeed!!

Paddy power betfair the new stupid name, should have called it PowerBet! will go straight into the ftse 100 with a mrk cap of £6BN dwarfing Sads & WH. That leaves 888 and Bet365 (still a private Co based in Stoke) as heirs apparent to PP. That would make more sense than a 888/SPO marriage. Outside of the CG nonsense one of the bigger US operators will probably take us out in due course leaving us a pure US game play.

This sure ain't acting like a Co on the receiving end of a bid? Should tell us something? Friday is "put up or shut up" day with an extension unlikely to be granted CG's offer must be of the knockout variety to stand a chance! Will that be? Don't think so mix and match bids are not popular among pis not that we ever have any say in the matter!

They are 'eyeing' other opportunities which may or may not inc Spo. It's a long shot but you never know....888 have been downgraded this year to c $50m from ($73m) after slowing H1 due to taxes and currency impacts. Tax issues are a problem for all gaming cos hence the rush to acquisitions to boost growth. Mobile betting now makes over 40% but poker and casino lags others. Could be a good fit if 888 want to diversify from being wholly dependent on Internet revenues which is becoming a very crowded workplace and where competition will increase in years to come. Having a good spread of leisure/gaming interests would appeal assuming no registration problems vis a vis the US.

R.Griffiths holds c 14.4m (7%).

Poss tie up with SPO regulatory hurdles might be needed to clear as 888 operate in unregulated regions that would pose US regulators concern. Just a mull you understand?.......While waiting to see what fancy nos CG come up with!.....heh heh heh!

R.Griffiths a substantial shareholder in SPO has an 11% stake in GVC (c 6.6m shares).

Seems GVC have won the day bidding £1.1Bn. 888 could end up as a bid target themselves unless they act quickly. However after this long drawn out battle for the hand of BWIN they might retire hurt for a while?

I read in the press and elsewhere of dissension in the ranks of WH shareholders for reasons that have affected Ladbrokes & Coral but not the likes of PP, GVC & 888. Be that as it may, WH may not be our ideal partner/takeover candidate but by virtue of the last man standing become our saviour? Whatever, if a cash bid? No worries. Would you take WH paper? Myself no, I'd rather invest in 888 should they lose the BWIN battle as they won't be carrying lumps of debt on their balance sheet. Anyways £1BN for BWIN? .............NUTS! An SPO/888 Tie up not beyond the realms of possibility should CG & 888 fail in their advances? A pure Internet Co tagged with our across the US reach has many attractions the main one if you fancy paper is .......no bloody betting shops!

CG reported Q1/15 results of $546k (loss) on rev of $209k. Analysts say the deal will be transformational for CG making it the largest pure focused gaming Co on TSX. Well I never! Apart from us owning the majority of CG can't see any obvious upsides for SPO holders in the short term. If we wanted to go down this route we'd have done so moons ago and the attractions of the deal are with the suitor not us. If we are not attractive enough for a serious player so be it? Nothing wrong in staying independent and looking for other opportunities to grow!

888 have come back with a revised offer for BWIN a company valued at £1BN + and has turned a profit once since 2010! I dunno SPO should start to lose millions......maybe then we'd be worth something, because making profits is clearly a waste of time!

Cheers rugs! Did I not see you over on SM a while back? I think I'm the last of the die hards left holding Sportech paper! Good grief it's over 15 years ago when Littlewoods reversed into Rodime. Won't bother you with the sp history too painful for words!

Gets a Hold recommend from Inv Chronicle Been mulling CG bid reckon it will value Spo at a max of 75p which will be a mix of cash & shares possibly 40p cash 35p worth of CG stock? Vat not accounted for obviously. Imo.